Lake of Sorrows

“Stop fussing me, will you?” Cadogan recognized his own voice in the boy’s response. When Stephen was out of harm’s way, his wife turned to him, but kept her distance. “You know when we’ll be home. You’ll have to fend for yourself until then.” What did she think he was, a schoolboy? Why had it taken him so long to realize that this was the way she’d always treated him, like a stubborn child?

Finally, the train pulled into the station. No false hope, no forced emotion, no tears. Cadogan felt relief as he watched his family climb the steps into the carriage.

“I won’t wait, if you don’t mind. I’ll just be off.”

“Whatever you like,” Pauline said. “I’ll ring you from Mam’s. Behave yourself.” With that final admonishment, she turned to catch up with the children, who were already arguing over who would get to sit facing the front of the train.

Cadogan turned and threaded his way through the loose clumps of travelers disembarking and waiting to get on. Freedom stretched before him, fourteen days in which he would not follow his wife’s advice. He felt enormous relief at getting out from under his family for a few days, and wondered briefly what it might feel like to be shut of them altogether. He dared not think about that—at least not until he’d seen his plan through, until he’d found out what his worst side was capable of at the bottom of it all.

Once out of the station, he passed a self-imposed threshold and allowed himself to think about Ursula Downes. When he’d arrived at the excavation site today, she’d accused him of trying to frighten her the night before. He hadn’t responded, just listened to her fume and sputter on. He wasn’t going to dignify her accusations with any reply. Who did she think she was, coming out here with airs and graces, rejecting him, after what they’d got up to almost every day last summer? Why should he tell her anything? Let her fucking wonder, the bitch.

7

Two days after the new body had turned up at Loughnabrone, Liam Ward sat at his desk finishing the paperwork on a couple of recent cases. They’d just closed the inquiry on a local farmer who was making and selling his own quack cures for cattle, and were now waiting for a determination on the charges to be filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. And just last week they’d cracked a stolen car case purely by accident; on their way out to interview the suspect, they’d found him trying to bury the car in the bog with a backhoe. Far from being sporadic, the detective work—even in a rural district like this—was usually small-scale, but relentless. This was the first homicide he and Maureen had faced in several years, and it was possible that the unusual circumstances of the case would mean they’d have some interference from above.

Maureen came through the door with a brown envelope. “Preliminary autopsy on the Loughnabrone case. It’s addressed to you.”

Ward studied the envelope. The address was in Catherine Friel’s regular, slightly feminine hand. Still no word on Danny Brazil’s dental records; it might take a few more days. He opened the envelope and slid the autopsy report onto his desk. There was a note attached:

Liam—

I hope this preliminary report will be of some use. It could be a couple of weeks before the toxicology and serology results come through, but please ring me if you have any questions. The findings are fairly conclusive, but let me know if you need clarification on any point. I’d like to help the investigation in whatever way I can.

—Catherine

Ward felt an unfamiliar catch just beneath his solar plexus as he set the card aside. He scanned the first few paragraphs, looking for the one phrase, the key that would help him unlock this puzzle.

Evidence of injuries:

1. Sharp force injury to the left side of the neck. This is a complex injury, a combination stabbing and cutting wound. The initial wound is present on the left side of the neck, over the sternocleidomastoid muscle, 6 cm below the left auditory canal. It is diagonally oriented, and after approximation of the edges, measures 2 cm in length. Subsequent autopsy shows that the wound path travels through the skin and subcutaneous tissue, without penetration or injury of a major artery or vein. This is a nonfatal sharp force injury.

2. Lateral contusion measuring 3 mm in width around the neck superior of the hyoid and traversing C4 at a 10-degree angle ascending anterior to posterior. There is a ligature crossover pattern 3 cm from posterior midline at C4, suggestive of a slightly off-center rearward ligature strangulation. This is a nonfatal injury.

3. Oblique and slightly curved laceration of the left posterior head, located 12 cm from the top of the head and 6 cm from the posterior midline. The laceration extends through the scalp and is associated with subgaleal hemorrhage. No skull fracture is present. This is a nonfatal injury.

4. Multiple incised wounds to scalp, face, neck, chest, and left hand (defense wounds).